USAWA

By Eric Todd

There were a few changes that were voted on and approved by the membership at the national meeting.  I have planned to outline these in a series of articles, and am just now getting to it. One of those was the allowance of individuals to lift virtually in USAWA competitions.  This is not an option that is allowable for the national championship, but could be an option for any other meet.  That is up to the discretion of the promoter.  For instance, all of the current meets sanctioned by Clark’s gym are hybrid, meaning lifters can lift in person or remotely, whereas the Old Time Strongman meet I am hosting next weekend is in person only.  The idea behind this rule change is that it might increase participation for those lifters that are less likely to travel cross country to meets.  Lifters who lift virtually with no certified official are eligible for meet accolades, but no national records.  Those that are judged by a certified official in a remote location from the in-person competition would be eligible for USAWA national records.  No promoter is required to offer remote or hybrid options, but any who wishes to is welcome to do so.  Any promoter is welcome to ask questions about this rule change via email, the forum, or on facebook. Hopefully it encourages additional participation of members and in turn increases our membership which seems to be on an uphill swing.

apparently, the Gold Cup is a hot commodity this year, which is a fantastic thing.  Because of that, they have had to change the venue for the banquet.  Updated info all below:

Entries are now being welcomed for the 2023 IAWA Gold Cup at MetamorFIT Gym, Eastbourne England!

Click Here for the Application Form – Word Format

Click Here for the Application Form – PDF Format

Click Here for the Information Sheet

Please note – Closing Date for entries is Saturday 14th October!

The Gold Cup is IAWA’s annual international record breakers event.

To take part, lifters must be the holder of an IAWA World Record.

Lifters have the opportunity to choose a lift and attempt to break (or set) a World Record in their age and weight class on that lift, but the first attempt has to be for the record. Three further attempts can then be taken.

If successful they receive a trophy based on the theme ‘Gold Cup’ presented at the evening award ceremony.

Lifters also have the opportunity to compete against each other to determine the overall winner (based on Blindt score, age & bodyweight) for the Howard Prechtel Memorial Award.

Usually (time permitting) lifters have an opportunity to attempt a record in a second choice lift.

Please direct any enquiries to the promoter –

Paul Barette – Email iawa@metamorfit.co.uk

We are working on getting national results from before we had a website recorded on the website in an effort to preserve a more complete history.  The first one that I am posting here is from 1997.  They are all transcribed from the “Strength Journal” by Bill Clark.  This was an idea of Frank Ciavattone’s and was presented at the national meeting last year.  Enjoy a little piece of history:

By Bill Clark (From “US All-Round Weightlifting Association Strength Journal”, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 17, 1997. Columbia MO. Print.)

Nationals 1997

By Eric Todd

Jeff Ciavattone-the USAWA’s newest Hall of Fame inductee

One of the highlights at this year’s nationals was the induction of our newest Hall of Fame Member, Jeff Ciavattone.  Jeff has been competing in all-round for a few decades now.  He has records dating back to 1991. Jeff has been challenging for top honors for many years now in the USAWA, the IAWA, and Frank’s Barbell Club, and is certainly deserving of this award.

Jeff was born in Norwood, MA on September 14, 1979.  He is the son of Hall of Famer Frank Ciavattone, founder of Frank’s Barbell club.  Jeff grew up in Wapole, and graduated from Wapole High in 1997.  While Jeff played basketball, football, and lacrosse at Wapole High, weightlifting has always been his primary sport. He started lifting with his dad when he was four years old.

Jeff worked for his dad’s construction company for many years before he became a Robotics Engineer.  That gave him the opportunity to travel the world repairing gas mains with robotic technology.  While on a trip to England, he met his wife.  They have now been married for over 5 years and live with their two cats in South Carolina.

In the realm of all-round weightlifting, Jeff was a top 10 lifter at nationals on four different occasions. He was the best overall junior lifter at the national championship in 1996, and top ten in the men’s division  four different times.  He has placed top three in the Heavy Lift championship on several times.  Jeff was the top lifter in the men’s division of the postal championship in both 2018 and 2022.  He was the overall best lifter in the Andy Goddard World Postal Championship in 2021.  He competed regularly in the USAWA national meet, particularly as a junior lifter. He also competed in several world championships. One of Jeff’s biggest claims to fame is a 408 pound world record deadlift-1 arm-right that was done when he was 19 years old that stands to this day.

Jeff is a member of the USAWA century club, currently with 148 national records.  Some of his records that stand out and are records to this day are as follows:

• DL DB left 392
• DL DB Right 425
• DL 1 arm 344 at 16 years of age, and 353 at 18 years
• Hand and Thigh 1200 at 16 years
• Harness lift 2000 at 18
• Hip Lift 1700 at 18
• Kennedy Lift 752
• Zercher of 450

Jeff has been a force in the USAWA and all-round in general for decades now.  He has been a champion many times over, and has carried on the legacy of the Ciavattone name. Jeff attributes much of his success to the support and coaching of his father, Frank, and is quite proud of having done it all without the aid of steroids. Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Jeff Ciavattone!  You have earned it!